6 month old still waking up in the middle of the night

Cecilia - posted on 11/30/2009
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My son just turned 6 mos. old on Thanksgiving and still wakes up at lease once a night to nurse. I have heard that at this age they shouldn't need to wake up to eat and to let them either cry back to sleep or to get up and rock them. I have tried both and no success. Anyone else having this issue??

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Lucy - posted on 11/30/2009

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My little girl is 7.5months old and wakes at the very very least 3 times between 8.30pm and and 7am. This last month she has been teething and has been waking every hour or so, although i know she isn't waking through hunger i nurse her back to sleep as it comforts her and ensure there is no stress or upset like there would be if i tried rocking her or leaving her to cry.

I wish my 6 month old was only waking once a night :) She's getting over a cold tho and everything's been thrown off with her congestion. But prior to that, 2-3 times a night was the norm. Some short nips with s longer feed. We co-sleep, so it's pretty easy. Our ped told me at her 6 mo. appt that she doesn't need to nurse at night anymore, guess we have different definitions of need & apparently my baby didn't get that memo :)

Breastfed infants are expected to receive about 25% of their nutrition during the night. Whomever told you that six month olds are not supposed to nurse during the night and to let them cry themselves to sleep is both uneducated about the normal course of breastfeeding and insensitive to the emotional and physical needs of infants.

My own 13 month old nurses about four times a night, and I'm sure that many other mothers here have the same experience.

Babies are not robots, there is no switch that magically flips at a pre-set date. Some sleep through the night soon, some later. Each baby is different and follows their own body's needs. If yours needs a night feeding still, then he needs a night feeding still.

my 11 month old nurses 5 to 7 times a night. i dont believe in cry it out...it makes babies stressed out. you can rock your baby but i don't do that. it hurts my arms. nursing is easier and faster, much much faster.

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Noelle - posted on 12/03/2009

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My daughter just turned 6 months a few days ago, she breastfeeds at least 3 times a night, after the third time she usually joins me and my hubby in bed for the rest of the night. That way at least I can shut my eyes while she nurses. :) Nursing at night is totally normal. For a while there she was nursing almost every hour, or 45 minutes during the night, then two teeth started to poke through! Breastfeeding was probably just her way of soothing herself during the night. To help her sleep for longer periods of time, especially during the night, I made sure she didn't have a long nap to close to bedtime. Recently, I started feeding her some pablem, mixed with formula right before bed. Since I started that, she'll sleep up to 6 hours without waking! Finally some much needed REM sleep! :D

I was a lucky one. My son did generally sleep through all the wee hours of the morning except when he had bad wind. Anyway, I found that my son sleep horribly when he got to the 5 - 8 month period because of his hellish teeth. Hopefully your son doesn't have that problem to boot. Luck to you.

I myself had no problem with my son he slept the night at 3 months, he's 19 months now and has never been sick, or had anemia due to not eating at night, I mean it depends on the child really, my sister on the other hand would feed 3 time a night and did everything almost to the T, but still her child had the anemia .Anyway, have you tried adding cereal to the milk you pumped or to the formula (if you give him any)? it might hold him better than just breast milk alone, by this age he should be sleeping the night and letting you get your well deserved rest. Now if you feel that you need to wake with him for the bonding or because you thing he need you there, do it, why not? You have to do what's right for you, and only you.

That "they should be sleeping all night" were either very lucky or bottle fed. Even Drs say they should sleep all night b/c it is what they are taught. Formula has been more popular in recent generations to the point that everything is based around that. A formula fed baby will (generally) sleep longer b/c formula takes longer to digest, so they stay full longer. BM is easier and faster to digest. My oldest, now 9, didn't sleep all night till he was 14 mos. Though he weaned at 10 mos he would go to bed with water instead of formula. DD#1, now 7.5, was on formula at 4 mos ( i was on meds that she couldn't have) and by 6 mos slept all night. DD#2, now 2.5yrs, still wakes twice a night for a full 30 min feeding. Once at 11 pm (she goes to bed at 8pm) and again at 4 AM(when she just climbs in bed with me). About 3 months ago she dropped her 1 AM wake up much to the relief of my husband LOL. So your little one is fine.

good for you for nursing that long....our generation does not understand the importance of breastmilk

My son is also 6 months and wakes ever 2-4 hours to be fed.. My doctor has told me to try to stop feeding him during the night cuz it's "extra calories".. he's also in the 95th percentile and she wants him to be in the 90th percentile. I've also heard from other mothers that have breastfed that they wake several times through the night to be fed.. it's totally normal.. and now also from what I've read on here proves that as well. Thanks ladies this has helped me out too! :D

Lucky you - once a night! My 6 month old wakes every 2 hours for a feed. I dont mind at the moment but it will have to change when i return to work. But, like everything else we have been through, i'm confident he will grow out of it when he is ready.

That "they should be sleeping all night" were either very lucky or bottle fed. Even Drs say they should sleep all night b/c it is what they are taught. Formula has been more popular in recent generations to the point that everything is based around that. A formula fed baby will (generally) sleep longer b/c formula takes longer to digest, so they stay full longer. BM is easier and faster to digest. My oldest, now 9, didn't sleep all night till he was 14 mos. Though he weaned at 10 mos he would go to bed with water instead of formula. DD#1, now 7.5, was on formula at 4 mos ( i was on meds that she couldn't have) and by 6 mos slept all night. DD#2, now 2.5yrs, still wakes twice a night for a full 30 min feeding. Once at 11 pm (she goes to bed at 8pm) and again at 4 AM(when she just climbs in bed with me). About 3 months ago she dropped her 1 AM wake up much to the relief of my husband LOL. So your little one is fine.

i am! my 7 month old wakes up every 3-4 hours..at least.. i nurse her and go back to bed, but sometimes shes wide awake! its frustrating, ive let her cry a couple times and she fell asleep after less then 5 min of crying. i dont like to hear her cry, but i knew she was full, and tired, and just needed sleep. your not alone! and 5 hours is considered "sleeping through the night" my Dr said...

I wish I could say mine got up once a night. We nurse anywhere from 2 to 6 times a night. Remember, breastmilk is important for more than food, it provides a pain relieving hormone during growth spurts and teething. Comfort nursing is also important. Babies need 25 percent of their nutrition during the night. Trying to skip night feedings for BF babies can lead to infant dehydration (breastmilk digests in 30 minutes) as well as Failure to Thrive even at six months and older. Babies do not need to sleep all night, in fact most cannot. It is ABNORMAL for a baby to not wake up at night especially a BF one. My four year old did not stop the middle of the night feed until he was almost three, though by then it was water. Babies and young children have shorter sleep cycles than adults.

I wish my 6 month old was only waking once a night :) She's getting over a cold tho and everything's been thrown off with her congestion. But prior to that, 2-3 times a night was the norm. Some short nips with s longer feed. We co-sleep, so it's pretty easy. Our ped told me at her 6 mo. appt that she doesn't need to nurse at night anymore, guess we have different definitions of need & apparently my baby didn't get that memo :)

i don't understand why pediatricians say stuff like that. every baby is different! my son won't eat during the day, so he needs to nurse at night and he's 11 months old!

my daughter is almost 11 mons and still wakes up in the night to nurse. and she eats some table food with us and reg baby food too (she has no teeth). he is supposed to wake up to eat at night, if its only once a night that s awesome! whomever said otherwise isn't too bright.

If your little one takes a full feeding when he wakes up during the night it is a good sign that he is in fact hungry. If he is just snacking then it may just be the comfort that he needs. If he is not taking a full feeding and waking at the same time every night then his little internal clock may be stuck and letting him cry for a little while may just be the thing to help him get unstuck. Babies need their sleep and are very capable of sleeping for good stretches thru the night. Him getting up once a night is pretty reasonable. As he increases his intake during the day with each feeding and maybe starts eating cereal he may just drop that feeding.

You could also try waking your baby and feeding him late in the evening at around 10 or 11 pm if you don't already to give him one last feeding... maybe he will drop the other feeding. That is what I did with my 4 month old. It is hard to wake sleeping baby but maybe that last feeding is all he will need to make it until the morning!

I nurse my nearly 8-month-old anywhere from once to three times during the night. In the evening, I just put her on whenever she fusses, until she just goes to sleep. Then if she wakes up and cries during the night, I just go and feed her.

Besides, I produce well, and when she sleeps 8 hours I end up leaking all over the place.

Thank you. I still wake up with him and nurse because I just can't listen to him cry for long periods of time. The support is very much appreciated. We don't have any teeth yet but shouldn't be too long now! :)

Teething is definitely a reason to be frequently waking. My daughter wakes pretty much every 45 minutes when teething also. Breastmilk has pain-relieving properties, so it makes sense our little ones would want to partake of that when they have achey swelling gums.

So many people see breastfeeding as solely nutritional but it's so so much more than that.

my eight month old wakes 3-5 times a night to nurse. during bouts of teething (it's happened three times and lasts exactly two nights always followed with the appearance of a tooth) she wakes every forty minutes fairly distraught.